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Powerhouse Studios, Inc.
Powerhouse Studios, Inc. (also known simply as Powerhouse Studios) is a non-profit Halo machinima production company based out of the United States (Illinois). They are formerly known as Powerhouse Productions. In addition to producing Never Dream of Dying and Seven Seconds to Kill, they have also been responsible for several James Bond mash-up videos, a Doctor Who audio play, and multiple live action projects. While the company was unofficially started in 2004, the motion picture division was founded in October 2006. They have been inactive since January 2011 from a machinima standpoint, but are currently developing a new Doctor Who audio drama, and a new Halo machinima series, Anti-Pattern, to begin broadcast in 2014. Unofficial Inception Powerhouse Productions was unofficially founded in 2004 and primarily released crude stick-figure short comics. Many comics were produced up until 2005, but members of the staff soon lost interest, and Powerhouse Productions's comics division was dissolved. Machinima first caught the interest of Powerhouse members in January 2006 when they were first introduced to Red vs. Blue. Seeing the web series's phenomenal success, crew members devised a way to create a machinima of their own. Getting influence from the 2006 Winter Olympiad in Torino, Italy, producers green-lit a "Halo Olympics" film which would feature a Warthog demolition derby, a synchronized banshee competition, and "convict battles" (a sort of deathmatch). Two other events were created (sniper-jousting, and wraith-rodeo) but were later cut. The movie featured a mock sports coverage with two announcers reporting on the action seen. While expectations were high for the film, it was panned by machinima-goers. Realizing that the Halo Olympics had eventually failed, Powerhouse producers regrouped. It was decided that an actual film (as opposed to mock sports cast) would be a better route to go for the next project, as the monotonous tone of the Halo Olympics was universally criticized. Because a crew member had become interested in The Terminator (1984), producers ran with the idea and a Terminator remake was green-lit. Very little is known about Powerhouse Productions's version of The Terminator, ''as it was never released to the public. Later, crew members would say that ''The Terminator ''was "certainly an improvement over the Olympics, but not quite up to the quality that we wanted." Never Dream of Dying - Powerhouse's Official Beginning Following a derided project and a lukewarm film, producers were desperate for an idea that would make Powerhouse Productions a major player. This lead to what would eventually become Never Dream of Dying. At first, producers didn't want the project to be a James Bond film, but with the November 2006 release of Casino Royale and at the CEO's assistance, a Bond film was greenlit. The shoot was considerably more tense and complicated than either the Halo Olympics or The Terminator. Elaborate action sequences were designed and required a considerable amount of preparation that would lead to frequent do-overs. The crew had a difficult time adjusting to the very different approach to filming and there were reported feuds on set. The now infamous shot of a Warthog colliding in mid-air with a Banshee was created on the spot by the suggestion of the film's second unit director and took 14 takes to get right. Filming began in October 2006 with a planned late November release, but producers underestimated the amount of time it would take to complete the film. As a result of several delays, the film was not completed until June 2007. Despite a hard shoot and a difficult editing process, the film was met with mixed to positive reactions from YouTube commentors. Among the elements praised were the action sequences, the camera angles and use of music and sound effects. The film also marked the the first appearance of a Powerhouse Productions logo. In this case, it was the text logo superimposed over a viral video of an explosion. Other Halo Machinima and Renaming Never Dream of Dying met with moderate success on YouTube. For an undisclosed reason, immediately following the release of Never Dream of Dying, Powerhouse Productions changed their name to Powerhouse Studios, Inc. Their mysterious name change is still debated to this day. Powerhouse Studios continued to develop numerous Halo 2 machinima projects, but only two made it into the production stage, and only one was completed. The completed project was a brief action-short named, Friction. It features music by Disturbed and showcased Powerhouse's increasing skill at action sequences and post-production. It was originally released on YouTube in December 2007. The short was to eventually lead into Halo 3, but the idea was scrapped when Halo 3 filming proved to be too difficult. The other project, an unnamed "stylish action/thriller," had some scenes filmed, but was eventually cancelled. In February 2008, eight months after Never Dream of Dying had been completed, producers urged the Powerhouse Studios CEO to enter NDOD (Never Dream of Dying) into a local film fest. The deal was nearly finalized, but the Powerhouse CEO backed out at the last minute, citing "serious issues with the current product." Instead, it was suggested that Powerhouse create a sequel to Never Dream of Dying and enter it into the next year's film fest. By November of 2008, a Never Dream of Dying sequel using Halo 3 had been written, but very little production had been completed. Upon realizing the sequel would not be ready for the February 2009 film fest, NDOD's director suggested to re-edit Never Dream of Dying and enter it. A reluctant crew approved the suggestion. Never Dream of Dying's "Ultimate Edition" was completed in early January of 2009. The new cut featured restored picture, new and higher bit sound effects, improved voice acting and tighter edits. The 'ultimate cut' of Never Dream of Dying was actually three minutes shorter than the original cut. It was met with overwhelming praise from the crew and immediately sent to the local film fest. On 25 February 2009, Never Dream of Dying was crowned the winner of the long category in the film festival. Powerhouse Studios's name was finally out, and a small but loud public interest had formed. Seven Seconds to Kill With the success of Never Dream of Dying's 'ultimate cut' in the local film festival, producers all agreed that the sequel, which - up to that point - had been neglected, be put in top priority. The script was completed, the project officially named (Seven Seconds to Kill) and an expedited production began. The idea was to have the film out by Summer 2009, but filmmakers once again underestimated the amount of time it would take to properly produce a Halo 3 machinima. Seven Seconds to Kill's shoot was even rougher than Never Dream of Dying's. The amount of delays were so substantial that the film was actually cancelled for about a month, but was put back into production when it was realized there wasn't much left to do. Accounting for the numerous delays, Seven Seconds to Kill was in production for nearly 26 months - a time table unheard of even in Hollywood. On 7 January 2011, Seven Seconds to Kill was finally finished and met to overwhelming critical success. Even though the view counts on YouTube were disappointingly low, producers were very happy with the amount of praise it got from the people who viewed it. The improvement from Never Dream of Dying to Seven Seconds to Kill was apparent, and audiences & crew alike knew it. Seven Seconds to Kill was also the first film under Powerhouse Studios to have its own Facebook page. It was used to release clips and update members of completion status. The very first clip of Seven Seconds to Kill was released on the Facebook page on 24 April 2010. 2011-2013 Hiatus and Dissolving Powerhouse Studios dissolved their machinima division immediately following the release of Seven Seconds to Kill. It was initially thought that Seven Seconds to Kill was to be the final machinima project of Powerhouse Studios, and the company would focus more on live-action projects. Members of the Powerhouse staff eventually split to do other projects and/or pursue other interests. Although there was no official announcement, Powerhouse Studios stopped developing content in March 2013, essentially dissolving the company. Anti-Pattern and Shooting Breezes In September 2013, the former Powerhouse CEO, with the help of some previous members, began development on a ''Halo: Reach machinima series. Early in the development process, it was dubbed "Anti-Pattern." The series was in on-and-off development for nearly two years, but was officially canceled on 3 April 2015. Links *Powerhouse Studios on YouTube *Powerhouse Studios on Facebook *Powerhouse Studios Blog *Old Powerhouse Studios YouTube Account Category:Machinima makers